The DijonStock Digital Home Recording Support Forum

Hello all. I just started recording with the aw1600 and really like it. My last box was a fostex 4-track analog tape machine circa 1992, so this is way different for me.

My question is: what levels should I be trying to achieve when recording? I assumed it was close to 0db as the manual says the following:



But when I record the bass at this level I end up having to turn it down to -20 when bouncing to stereo tracks or it booms like crazy on the finished cd. Am I doing something wrong?

I am going from the bass into the Hi-Z jack. No effects. I tried eq'ing it out, but really want to leave the signal alone unless i have to tweak it.

Thanks for any info.

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Know_Nothing

When I used to record bass direct in (I use a preamp now) I would shoot at around -3 to -6 db. The resulting track volume is then adjusted with the track channel fader upon mixdown.

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THE MUSIC IS DOWN IN HERE
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Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

You are doing nothing wrong, Kevey.

Theoretically (and I can't repeat it sufficiently - theoretically), you want to record every track as close to 0 dB as you can get. Why? Because you want to use the full dynamic range of 90 dB for each track.

However, if in practice you find out you have to put the track fader to -20 dB, you can afford to use that much as headroom. Even if you record up to 0 dB and you slide the fader down to -20 dB, you only use 70 dB of dynamic range - because it is enough. However, I would not have it peak at -20 dB while recording, but I would aim somewhere between -12 dB and -6 dB. That way, you are sure no clipping or distortion will occur, and you still have a little headroom that you can give away.

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Don't judge the coffee by its cup.
The proof of the cheese is in the eating

And..........bass frequencys don't need to be as hot as the higher ones to cut thru a mix.

-12 will still getcha in the mix OK.

msg

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THE MUSIC IS DOWN IN HERE
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Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

thanks for all the info. i'll give it a shot!

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Know_Nothing

Moderator note to Admin:

Shouldn't Mr. kevey be assigned the rank of 1000th member rather than Lone Star?

I agree.......so it is wrtten .......so shall it be did

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THE MUSIC IS DOWN IN HERE
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Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

Right. Now we're stylin'

Bob, was that you in '74 ?

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it's funny, the older you get, the older you wanna be